The Brand Meter™ – Test Your Trademark

Which of the following best characterizes your proposed Trademark?

Generic Marks

A generic trademark is a common name for a product or service. For example, "Ivory" would be generic when used to describe a product made from tusks of elephants. Likewise, "conferencecall.com" is a generic mark when used in connection with teleconferencing communications services.

Descriptive Marks

A term is descriptive if it conveys an immediate idea of the ingredients, qualities or characteristics of the goods or services. More specifically, descriptive marks are those that contain words or terms that merely describe the intended purpose, function, quality, size, ingredients, characteristics, ...class of users, or intended effect on the user of the goods or services they identify. Descriptive Marks also include trademarks that primarily describe the geographical origin of the goods or services, a person's surname, and laudatory phrases, such as the "the best", "the greatest", "fastest", etc. For example, "TASTY" for bread, "TRIM" for nail clippers, and "CAR FRESHENER" for deodorizer would all fall into the descriptive category of terms. Likewise, "COASTER-CARDS" is descriptive of post cards that are suitable for use as coasters because "Coaster-Cards" describes the manner in which the product will be used by the purchaser.

Suggestive Marks

Suggestive trademarks contain words or terms that suggest some of the qualities of the good or service but do not directly describe them. Suggestive marks are one step removed from descriptive marks in that suggestive marks require that the consumer use a measure of imagination, thought and ...perception to understand the essential characteristics of the good or service offered in connection with the trademark.

Arbitrary Marks

Arbitrary trademarks are words having a common meaning but no connection in association with the user's goods or services. "APPLE" for computer devices is an arbitrary mark. When used in connection with apples (the fruit) the term would be generic, when applied to a fruit grower the term would be descriptive..., but when used in connection with a good or service wholly unrelated to the fruit, such as computers, the term would fall into the arbitrary category of marks.

Fanciful Marks

Fanciful marks are "words" which have been invented for the sole purpose of functioning as a trademark and have no other meaning than acting as a mark. Examples include: XEROX, KLEENEX, KODAK, STARBUCKS, VERIZON, EXXON, and SINGULAR.

Generic Marks

Generic Marks are ones that identify products or services using words and terms, often found in the dictionary, that are common for the identification and description of those goods or services. Here are more examples of trademarks that have been found by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to be Generic Marks:

"LAWYERS.COM" was held to be generic for providing an online interactive database in the fields of legal services

"SCREENWIPE" was held generic as applied to premoistened antistatic cloths for cleaning computer and television screens because "screen wipers" is a generic name for a cloth used to wipe screens

"SPORTSBETTING.COM" was held generic for provision of casino games on and through the Internet because "sports betting" is the generic name for that activity

Descriptive Marks

Descriptive Marksdiffer from generic ones in that generic marks don't describe the good but rather contain the actual name of good or service in the trademark. By contrast, descriptive marks are a step removed and provide description either of the products or services, their ingredients, the manner in which such products will be used, or the geographic origin of the products or services. The following are some examples of trademarks that the United States Patent and Trademark Office found descriptive:

"LIGHT" for portable computers is a descriptive trademarks because it describes the computer's weight

"E-FASHION" is merely descriptive of software used to obtain beauty and fashion information, and for electronic retailing services

"FOOD & BEVERAGE ONLINE" was merely descriptive of a news and information service for the food processing industry

"MOUNTAIN CAMPER" is merely descriptive of retail mail order services in the field of outdoor equipment and apparel

"PATENTS.COM" was merely descriptive when used in connection with computer software for managing a database of records that could include patents and for tracking the status of the records by means of the Internet

"PATENT & TRADEMARK SERVICES INC." is merely descriptive of legal services in the field of intellectual property

"E-AUTODIAGNOSTICS" is merely descriptive of an electronic engine analysis system comprised of a hand-held computer and related computer software

"I-TOOL" was merely descriptive of computer software for use in creating web pages, and custom design of websites for others

"BUG MIST" is merely descriptive of insecticide

"QUIK-PRINT" held merely descriptive of printing services and

"BED & BREAKFAST REGISTRY" was held descriptive when used in connection with lodging reservations services - although the trademark arguably boarders on genericness.

Suggestive Marks

Suggestive Marks The majority of proposed trademarks will fall either in the descriptive category or in the suggestive category. A trademark will be suggestive rather than generic if a multistage reasoning process, or the use of imagination, thought or perception is required to discern the nature or attributes of the goods or services associated with the trademark. For example:

"SNO-RAKE" was found to be suggestive of a snow removal hand tool because of the incongruous use of individually descriptive terms

"PARIS BEACH CLUB", applied to T-shirts and sweatshirts, was not descriptive, the United States Patent and Trademark Office reasoned that because Paris is not located on an ocean or lake, and does not have a beach, the juxtaposition of "Paris" with

"Beach Club" results in an incongruous phrase which purchasers would view as a humorous mark, a take off on the fact that Paris is known for haute couture. Thus purchasers would not expect T-shirts and sweatshirts to originate in the city of Paris.

"NETSCAPE" is suggestive of software which allows traversing the "landscape" of the Internet

"MICROSOFT" is suggestive of software for microcomputers

"7-ELEVEN" for a convenience store that was originally open from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. is suggestive rather than descriptive because it takes reasoning to make the connection between the trademark and the store's hours of operation

"GREYHOUD" for bus services and "JAGUAR" for automobiles are both suggestive, in that both trademarks suggest the speed of their products/service;

Arbitrary Marks

An arbitrary trademark is usually a common word which is used in a meaningless context (e.g. "APPLE" for computers). Such marks consist of words that have some dictionary meaning before being adopted as trademarks, but which are used in connection with products or services unrelated to that dictionary meaning. Other examples:

"VEUVE" - meaning WIDOW in English held to be an arbitrary term as applied to champagne and sparkling wine

"SUN" for computer systems is an arbitrary use of the word "Sun"

"COLORADO RIVER" for candy bars or "MOUNT RUSHMORE" for automobiles would be arbitrary

Names of places such as "ANTARCTICA", "MOUNT EVEREST", or "GALAPAGOS" are arbitrary terms, at least when used for ordinary commercial products, such as beer and shoes that have no relationship to those geographic areas.

Terms such as SUN, WORLD, GLOBE, MARS, or MILKY WAY are also arbitrary, because they are not informational and competitors do not need to use these terms to compete effectively.

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